Hey everybody, it's Prowl!
Here's peek into the early development of Prowl. Even from before I was brought on to TFA, it had been decided that the new version of Prowl was going to be a motorcycle.
I had originally had him colored more like the black and white G1 version. Since Ratchet was already going to be primarily white, and the ninja aspect of the new Prowl's character was going to be played up, we decided to go with the black, gold and tan theme. I thought this was really fun because I got to design Prowl with sort of "CHiPs" type motorcycle cop uniform style to his robot mode.
Eric Siebenaler from Hasbro and Alex Kubalski from Takara also requested that we move Prowl's wheels from his shoulders to his legs. This helped blend my design with a really amazing transformation idea that Alex had been working on for a motorcycle Transformer.
posted by Derrick J. Wyatt | 2:03 PM
103 Comments:
Awesome!! More please!!
wow!
redesigning the transformers, talk about an epic job! :)
everything here looks AMAZING... super-SUPER good stuff...
not only are the designs totally bad-arse, they're appealing as well...
great work!
These are great! Love your personal take on classic transformers. I think it's truly revolutionary. And it's great that the toy line is consistently accurate to your designs.
I'm really interested in seeing more of your discarded ideas. They're all so cool! Please post more. Any chance of publishing an art of book? Or sketchbook series that highlights your designs? Please??
Great samuari touches on the one on the right.
Also it seems like your Prowl concept on the left mutated into the final Jazz design.. No?
Thanks for the comments. I will try to put up more discarded ideas. I have a very busy schedule on TFA and it is often hard to find extra time to update the blog. I would love to do a book too.
It is totally possible that I had my first Prowl design in the back of my mind when designing Jazz.
Awesome stuff, man. Love seeing concepts like this.
A question, though - is the date on the white Prowl 2003, or 2007 with a flourish on the 7?
Great stuff, man! I love seeing things like this. Totally agreed on the book idea, BTW.
Also, VERY happy to hear that you're busy with TFA. That means more goodness to come! (MUCH more, I hope.) Tell TPTB at CN to make with the official greenlight, already. :)
I love this behind-the-scenes stuff! From the beginning of the series I've wondered how the interaction between you and Hasbro/Takara is carried out. So from this it looks like you submit initial designs, HasTak looks them over, decides how they can engineer the toy from them, and you make design changes to reflect their engineering? How long does it take before a character is finalized?
Thanks for the updates!
That is an '03 there on the date. That is when I started on development for Animated.
Almost every design is a different case, but yes many of them are done as described above. Some have more changes than others, and some have no changes. There are other times when Hasbro and Takara have an idea for the transformation before I even begin my design.
I like Prowl in white uniform! Japan had white ninjas too.
My fave animated char.
As an aspiring animation student, this is stuff I really enjoy seeing.
Ahem, "Fascinating!"
Badass stuff, Derrick. Love seeing the evolution. Wish some of this stuff showed up as extras on the dvd.
When's season 3 begin?
qiuck question~is hasbro going to come out prowl having a side car?
Thank you for posting. Absolutely love it! Please keep it coming!
Season 3 hasn't even been officially announced yet, so it's still quite a ways off.
The side car is coming! It looks totally perfect too. Hasbro and Takara did a fantastic job on that one.
Looking forward to picking up the Samurai Prowl figure. I really dig that G1-esque Prowl concept.
Question: was Prowl's ninja face mask intended to look like v1 'Commando' Snake-Eyes from GI Joe, or is that just a coincidence?
At any rate, I love it. Keep up the great work!
Great work! I wonder if we'll ever see a repaint of Prowl in your G1-inspired initial deco? Hope to see you again at the next Botcon!
thanks. now i'm gonna have the CHiPs theme in my head the rest of the day. also i'm glad erik estrada isn't voicing prowl.
That Prowl looks pretty snazzy in G1 colors but I think I like the end result alot more.
Anyway, I got to see Beachcomber's design and it looks pretty fitting for the hippie, did you design that one too? Because it's a really cool take on the character,
Awesome work I've really been enjoying the designs for the show I really think Starscream and Megatron where well designed. Lots of appeal there.
I really have enjoyed watching this show the designs are great and so is this concept work. I have to say my favorite characters for their appealing design are the starscream, the seekers and earthmode Megatron. I love your work and look forward to seeing more posts.
Prowl's Ninja mask was inspired by Snake Eyes.
I would love to see a G1 style Prowl repaint!
I worked on Beachcomber's design with designer Irineo Maramba. He was going to be a total hippy slacker type. Unfortunately his speaking part in the early part of season 3 got cut for time. So, at this point, we don't know if he will even be in season 3 or not.
lovely, stunning designs. I'm enjoying the series so much! thanks for this little insight into your mind Derrick. it's truly inspiring and we're so incredibly jealous of your talent!
Aw man I really hope Beachcomber would get in season 3. Well we can hope for a toy right? Maybe if there is a season 4 you could put him in there? I hope. My family loves animated.
Is there gunna be more beast wars characters coming. I like the idea of an animated waspinator as a wasp. I think your style is great.
I wanted beachcomber in animated. Who knows that prowl may turn into an upgrade of the prowl right now.
"Unfortunately his speaking part in the early part of season 3 got cut for time. So, at this point, we don't know if he will even be in season 3 or not."
noooo! It WAS PERFECT! And I was really looking forward to the toy too.
That is an '03 there on the date. That is when I started on development for Animated."
Holy crap, Animated was in development for four years?
No wonder it's so awesome.
You know what, that can't be right. I think I started in the begining of 2006. I have no idea why that says 2003! I'll have to go back and check my original files again... Sorry about the mix up guys!
Cut eh? Well that's truly a shame, his design looked reeeeeal slick.
Well, what about Rodimus, Cyclonus and whoever the beetle-looking dude was? They're still going to show up?
2006. That makes a bit more sense. Hopefully beachcomber will be in the romored season 3.
WOOT WOOT!!!
Thank you so much for posting this up for all of us to see! Its been hard waiting to see when the next season is, but with this, it'll make the wait easier to bare! =3
But really, I can't belive Prowl actually started out to be so similar to his G1 mode. @_@
Dude, you rock. Thanks for sharing some behind-the-scenes stuff. Your TFA stuff is fantastic.
Aw man, seeing the G1 inspired color scheme and head now makes me wish that it had happened. I like the new black/gold scheme, though I guess it does help set him apart from the old G1 Prowl due to some personality differences, kinda like Shockwave.
Though, not so much about season 3 or anything, but I'm curious on what other Autobots or Decepticon's you'd love to see get an Animated incarnation. Personally, I think seeing an Animated incarnation of Onslaught or Powerglide would be pretty awesome.
Thanks Derrick. I love seeing Prowl in white too - some fun for the customizing community.
Maybe, when you have a moment or two, you'll be able to update your wonderful Riddler collection too.
A quick note about Rodimus, Cyclonus and season 3 in general. Take everything you guys are reading on the boards with a grain of salt. ALL the people posting spoilers that I have read so far have been putting up inaccurate info. Some WAY off. Even those with Hasbro connections and posters who have been a good source of information in the past seem to have gotten some REALLY bad info.
Hey Derrick great stuff, will put out another sketchbook like you did along time ago with Teen Titans villans, but with Transformers?
I would love to do another sketch book if I could ever find the time.
Just throw something together, lol, I'll take whatever I can get.
But is Rodimus prime, glavatron and cyclonus still in season 3? I was really hoping for those characters.
well, derrick do you mind hint us abit on some information like autobots and decepticons bots on the animated seres in season 3? just a pinch of salt would do...please~
dude you rock! those concepts are awesome! keep up the great work!
Hey Derrick,
Here's my question. I can't figure out why Transformers Animated Season 3 (existence, that it is coming...) "hasn't officially been announced yet." I mean, is there actually some chance that it will not air???
Marty Isenberg, in the (official publication) Transformers Collector Club mag went so far as to say, (I'm paraphrasing but pretty close to exact quote) ~~"I cannot say that season 3 is official. For what it's worth, I will tell you that we haven't started working on season 4 yet."~~
What am I missing here? Why wouldn't Hasbro/CartoonNetwork/everyone involved here want the world to know that Animated S3 is coming? I don't get it.
I'm also wondering if you could lend your official confirmation to this report.
http://www.unicron.com/news_item/1421/
(C'mon, I know you want to!)
It'd be cool for you to say something like, Yeah the whole Cyclonus/Galvatron thing => not so much...
Unicron.com => right on the money! :)
Actually, what I'd like to know is, can we look forward to more (Beast Wars) Predacons than Waspinator and (maybe?)Blackarachnia?
Yay! A larger picture of the Prowls! Really hope there's a sketchbook for this series someday. I love the show and can't wait for Season 3.
Ahhh... new Wyatt Art. Much better now :)
It's really cool to see these preliminary designs, not to mention the final concept art too. One thing I'm curious about Prowl: was there ever a Cybertronian vehicle mode designed for him? We've seen art of those of the other four main Autobots, but to my knowledge, never Prowl's. For that matter, did the Decepticons ever have Cybertronian vehicle designs? Just a bit curious, is all. The designs are all fantastic, and the sole reason I've gotten back into Transformers after a few-years hiatus.
One of the reasons I like Prowl is because he owns a kitty poster.
- cmoney, all of the Decepticons had Cybertronian modes (except Blackarachnia who had one as Elita One). They just weren't much different to their earth modes and they weren't seen much since they were in darkness (except for Megatron and Starscream).
- perceptor@unicron.com, you pose a good question. I think everyone would like to know the answer to that. I know I sure do.
I think, if I'm reading it correctly, the question was not so much if the Decepticons had Cybertron modes, but if vehicle modes were ever designed for them. Megatron is the only one of the main five Decepticons a Cybertron vehicle mode was designed for. We have Cybertron vehicle designs for all five of the main Autobots.
Perceptor@unicron.com's question is a good one! I've been trying to think of a way to answer without unleashing a mess of spoilers. But, I haven't figured out how to do it yet.
Yes, Mr. Wyatt, that is exactly what I meant, sorry for any confusion. Thanks very much for answering my questions. Hopefully Prowl will get a nice flashback episode this season too. :)
Thanks for answering my question, Mr. Watt! I'm going to have to get a Prowl figure for my 25th Anniversary Snake-Eyes to ride.
That's exactly what I did!
I can see that colour scheme being used as a future store/convention/campaign exclusive.
By "Perceptor@unicron.com's question is a good one! I've been trying to think of a way to answer without unleashing a mess of spoilers. But, I haven't figured out how to do it yet.
" I guess we can take that as at least some of it is true, otherwise it would be an easy debunking answer
Yes, you are right. In Perceptor's comments, one bit is true. One part is confused (probably by a person seeing a design and making assumptions). One is just flat out wrong.
Recently, the images of ANimated Jetfire and Jetstorm have been released. Was their method of combination your idea or Hasbros?
http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/new-images-of-animated-jetstorm-and-jetfire-twopack/14084/
I'm hoping... A Voyager comes out because the Deluxe does not do the Figures justice :(
I'm very sad :(
I wouldn't rush to judgment on the Jetfire and Jetstorm figures yet. Those are some pretty terrible pictures that are out there right now. The pictures I saw way back of the grey prototypes looked really good. And yes, of course they have hands! In both robot modes! The promo pics are just mistransformed. Once they are properly transformed and posed out, they should look pretty cool.
Glad to hear it. How show accurate would you say the designs are?
Then I will keep the 2 boxes in preorder! ;)
Kind regards,
Johan Eggink
Netherlands
Oh yes, as a sidenote.. Please have some cool race cars toys for season 3. There are enough trucks and SUV's. No cars like Jazz :)
Symmetricalllll Docking-u!
I've been looking forward to these figures since the coloring artist for the included comic told me about the fact that there are hands.
Two Questions: What we saw, is that REALLY the combined vehicle mode?
And 2: If you're allowed to tell us: Are the jet twins going to appear in Season 3?
So and comment Derrick on the Rodimus, Strika, Blackout and Spittor designs that were leaked out by 52toys.com in China?
Moon, for god's sake...
Hmm. It's sort of their combined mode, I guess. From the early pics I saw the rear of the combined vehicle is supposed to be split to make an "X" shape. It cuts a way better silhouette that way. And yes, the twins will be in season 3.
Ugh. I hate leaks. They always have the worst quality images. Not even any color! Oh well. Maybe you can see that Spittor's Cybertronian vehicle form is inspired by Don Figueroa's totally freaking awesome BW comic pre-beast Spittor design. And General Strika! Chalk up another personal Transformers life goal for yours truly!
Okay Mr. Wyatt I've got some questions for you.
1. Could we see the pre-look Prowl as possibly a upgrade of prowl in animated? Cause I'm really digging the design and hope that hasbro could make a toy of that prowl in both colors.
2. How does the Animated Wreck-Gar's toy look and will he be in season 3?
And last but not least will Galvatron be in transformers animated. Because we really need a upgrade for that piece of slag that hasbro calls Universe Galvatron.
It's okay if you don't feel that okay about giving us some big spoliers on transformers animated.
Spittor is odd to say the least, Strika is a pleasant surprise, always hated Rodimus as a character, but his toy will probably be irresistable as usual.
Can you tell us if we can expect the twins to scan earthmodes on the show?
(Rhinox555 of the TFW2005 boards)
The designs are amazing, even without color. Derrick, it's great how you pull from all the different lines of TFormers and distill them through your own stylistic prism. Truly inspiring.
It's interesting, of all transformers lines, this is the only one to take a visual stand -- that it to say, look back at all that has been done, and caricature those iconic shapes in a very sophisticated and rewarding way. The very fact that you have taken the best and worst of a wide array of TF looks (including the overdone, busy, hard to read TF movie designs)and reduced them into appealing, exciting and humorous forms is a tribute to your talent and taste. I wish that Michael Bay had employed someone as visually sensitive as you in the live action world. Just because it was live action, didn't mean the chatracters had to be visually cumbersome. There could have been a touch of elegance. The movie was exciting and cool but think how much better it would have been if the shapes had flowed better, and you could actually read where a face was?
In addition to classic TF design, I can guess your influences are Mignola, 50s animation stylization (maybe a touch of Disney/Tom Oreb) along with the best parts of anime. Please talk more about your influences if you can. And what your POV of designing this great show was from the outset.
G1 was great. But TFA is a postmodern take on all that has come before and, to me, it is the definitive Transformers show (at least visually).
That Omega Supreme in the Season Finale was SPEC-FRIGGING-TACULAR.
Keep up the GREAT work!!
okay, how come Jetfire and storm don't have wings?
Was Sailor Moon a slight influence to TFA?
Love that Derrick. Can't wait to see Samurai Prowl in plastic form.
On the subject of the leaked designs. As you may know, Beachcomber's was released awhile ago. I took a stab at coloring it for kicks and was wondering if you could tell me how "close" I got it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v303/TriBlurr/2D%20Work/Colors%20By%20Me/BeachcomberColors.jpg
Again. great work. Must be an awesome feeling. To see your designs in toy form.
I really appreciate the time and effort that you put into your designs.
The way that you can blend something new with something old and achieve a very successful final product, well I think it has rarely been done with as much success as you have, and really never in the Transformers Universe, although many of the new Classics/Universe figures are doing this with varied degees of success.
I really like the Prowl in 'G1' color design. That just made my day.
Was there a bit of BSG inspiration in the twins jetmodes? I think the nose especially looks very 'Viper-esque'--more classic than new version, but still. It's a look I quite enjoy.
And I have to agree that the Omega Supreme battle was awesome.
It must have been very hard to keep, mum, about his inclusion when all the fansites were theorizing when we first saw the Autobots ship.
Many of us are begging for a toy on this one... we really want to see a supreme sized Omega for our collections!
Stay true, and keep it up!
Where the flashback to Prowl's and is Oil Slick in it as by a Riochet,Silversceen,Moonracer,Kup,Rhinox & others New Charthers for this Episode?
I love Strika.... if she were characterized like Fran from Dodgeball it would be awesome.
Mr. Wyatt, I got a Q and A for ya
1. Was Sailor Moon an In fluence to TFA in any way?
2. Is Blackout suposed to be MOVIE blackout?
3. Does spittor have a bot mode or just a frog mode?
4. Where did the space bridge take the transformers anyway?
5. Any hints on Sari?
Good gravy! I don't know if I can keep up with all of these questions. I will give it a shot though. Here goes.
My influences are some of the things mentioned above, mixed with a heavy dose of 80's cartoons (Mighty Orbots and others), Hanna Barbera, 2000AD comics, anything Gainax does, Robert Valley and Jamie Hewlett, the list goes on and on. For the design of the new TFA series, I wanted to get back to basics with the Transformers, while splicing in some of that Orbots and ABC Warriors look and feel. It's also been my scheme all along to get new toys made of my old favorite Transformers.
TriBlurr, I think your Beachcomber is pretty close to what we did. I kept his face Smurfy-blue, and colored him all blue from the waste down, so he looks like he's wearing pants and no shoes. Get a job, Beachcomber, you worthless slacker!
The twins jet modes might have a little old school sci-fi tv inspiration in them, yes.
Wow, the Sailor Moon fans are out in force! Sailor Moon probably influenced at least every female crew member that works on Transformers Animated. I'm not sure how much of that ends up in the show. Do you have a specific example of what you think it was influential in?
Blackout is the ANIMATED Blackout. Spittor does have a bot mode. Into space. No hints on Sari.
Thanks for the comments back.
Appreciate it, looking forward to your next blog update.
is jetfire's and jetstorm's transformation into safegaurd based on symetrical docking from gaogaigar?
is the transformation into safegaurd based on symetrical docking from gaogaigar?
Profesor princess, Slo mo, transformetion sequences..... SAILOR MOON
Transformation sequences aren't really exclusive to Sailor Moon, it's fairly common with "Magical Girl" anime...or anything with giant robots that change form/combine with one another..and I seem to recall Unicron having one in the '86 movie, it wasn't stock footage like what you are probably thinking of bumblebeerocks and sailor moon fanboy, true but it has been done numerous times before. Sailor Moon is probably the most well known use of the transformation stock footage.
Quotage: Can you tell us if we can expect the twins to scan earthmodes on the show?
(Rhinox555 of the TFW2005 boards)
Derrick,
I like how Jetstorm and Jetfire have a whole fire and ice theme going.
Really enjoy the series and look forward to season three.
Oh, I see. No, sorry, Sailor Moon didn't influence any of those things. Professor Princess is 100% inspired by the girls toys my little sister had in the 80's when I had my first Transformers.
No more info on Jetfire and Jetstorm right now. Other things will probably trickle out soon enough anyway.
Poor Derrick! You need 48 hour days if you're going to keep up with the show and this blog!
I really want to see a Sailor Sari now!!! XD
Hi Derrick.
Any comment on Sideswipe? How involved were you in his design?
I wasn't involved at all. I hadn't seen it, or even heard they were doing it until it showed up on all the fan sites in the past few days.
really. I'd be interested in seeing what you could do with that Sideswipe design. Was it the same deal with Oilslick, or did Hasbro show you that in advance? Must get hard for them to coordinate between all the various comic and videogame adaptations. I hope the Animated tv crew get to see the finished copy, just so you can see what they're working on.
The Titan UK Movie comic has had some inconsistencies, but mostly it's been pretty good. They came up with some interesting angles on things.
I love seeing these pre-production designs and how they evolved.
Are there any character concepts that you feel didn't get enough love in the Generation 1 cartoon that you'd like to see in "Animated?"
Eric Siebenaler from Hasbro showed me his concept for Oilslick right from the get go. I was too busy with show stuff to give much input, but liked what he had done anyway. How could I not like a bot with a Mr. Freeze tank on his head and a ram skull on his shoulder? We really consider Eric to be part of the show's creative team anyway. I'm sure it is hard for Hasbro to coordinate everything. Since Marty Isenberg actually wrote the Transformers Animated: The Arrival comic for IDW himself, we consider that part of the show continuity. I got to do some designs for the IDW comic as well. Marty also was involved with the story for the Nintendo DS game. Having the show creators involved in these types of projects really helps them feel more like they are all part of the same universe.
There are absolutely TONS of G1 concepts that are practically begging to be in Animated. Maybe some of them will get to.
Marty Isenberg must be stretched thin between the IDW comic and the show. It must be a good opportunity to expand upon what goes on in the show and include stuff that wouldn't fit in with the time constraints of a 22 minute episode.
I suppose the Titan Animated comic won't be official continuity, or have that same level of input. Do they get model sheets or a style guide? Maybe you could send them unused background characters or repaint-style variation characters(like the stuff on Autoboot Camp). I dunno.
The old Marvel UK strip wasn't much like the G1 cartoon, but they came up with interesting storylines, often with characters that were never really developed on the show. It might be trickier this time, I don't think Animated has as many loose ends, but I'll check it out for a couple issues anyway.
I'd Die to see Sunsteaker and a better looking more G1 like sideswipe in animated.
Know what would be also cool.
A Trailbreaker and a Wheeljack.
Glad to know I was pretty close on beachcomber's colors.
Hey...if you guys ever put Wheeljack into an episode. You should see if you could get Christopher Lloyd to voice him. I think it would be a perfect fit for the Autobot's crackpot inventor. lol
As long as you guys don't consider Furman's crappy Animated comic in the UK as canon, I'll be happy.
I'd really like too see an Animated Ratbat and/or Ravage but not as new minions/instruments for Soundwave I feel that through various media over the years they have outgrown their original roles as Predacons/techno-organic beast alt modes like Black Arachnia would rock.
Any of the former cassettes we update would be based on their classic animal-like G1 cartoon selves. I know there is a very large part of the fandom that prefers the comic style talking Ratbat and whatnot, but I am not one of them. When I was a kid reading the Marvel comics, I never understood why the cartoon and comics were so different. Treacherous Shockwave, smart Grimlock, and talking Ratbat were just concepts I could never accept as a kid, and that bias is still with me. I did really enjoy the more evolved Beast Wars Ravage character, but I will always prefer the classic version. TFA's inspiration generally comes from the other animated series that proceeded it. That doesn't mean that we won't throw fans of the comics a bone now and again!
I should also say that I regularly read, and am a big fan of the modern age IDW comics. It's great to have Transformers comics with such cool art and stories.
Aw, c'mon! Talking, glorified accountant comic Ratbat is awesome!
i always thought it would be cool [especially in animated] if the cassettes transformed from their classic animal form to a vehicle form, imagine ratbat as a little purple tank, and ravage as a motorbike, think of the possibilities, alot of the characters could have.. well a pet of sorts...
ANIMATED RULES!!!
Dia Duit Mt Wyatt sir, master...god :D
First off, excellent work on the designs. Especially Rodimus', very cool. I've a quick question I know you probably can't answer, but hey, why not ask
The Dinobots featured more in S1 than any other guest characters, even more than supposed regular Black Arachnia. Was there a reason for this (fans, favouritism etc) and (awkward bit coming) do you know if we might be getting Dinos V Cons in S3...or maybe easier to answer, would you like to see Dinos V Cons?
This is BRILLIANT! I knew i wanted prowl from the moment i saw the concepts and it's great to see the versions he went through. The transformation IS amazing.
It's so great to actually talk (if you read this) To someone who designs these things... That i am so passionate about... I love the "stance" you give all of your characters. it's really epic. and all of the robot silhouettes seem at once familiar and fresh at the same time.
Can't wait to see what you produce next!
I try to read comments as frequently as possible. Thanks for all the kind words.
hey Mr. Wyatt! first of all, GREAT work on the series thus far. Transwarped really shocked, horrified, and over all, as Prowl would say "Impressive!"
well, I understand if you can't answer some of my questions, but...
1. Who were/is Animated Blackout, Perceptor, and Cliffjumper's voice actors? Cartoon Network advertised some show during the credits and crammed them onto the bottom.
2. Can you give any hint as to Blurr's fate? Is he truly dead?
3. How many more episodes can we expect from the third season?
4. Any comments in the recent rumors that Season Three will be the end of it?
Thank you!
Awesome! just pure awesomeness!
I guess you'll want to get a twitter icon to your site. Just marked down this url, although I must make this manually. Just my suggestion.
Why doncha make a blaster animation model for blaster
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